Jewel Garland of Enquiry-1
_____________________
*********************
(VICHARA MANI MALAI)
of
BHAGAVAN SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI
**************
Introduction to the original Tamizh version
Of the four human ends, namely dharma / धर्म (virtuous and harmonious life), artha / अर्थ (material prosperity), kama / काम (desires) and moksha / मोक्ष (Liberation), Liberation is the most important. There are several Vedantic books in the Sanskrit / संस्कृत and Prakrit / प्राकृत languages which describe this Liberation which is of the cessation of misery and the attainment of bliss. Among these there is a rare book known as Vichara Sagaram / विचार-सागरं written in Hindi /हिंदी by Sadhu Nishchaldas / साधु निश्चलदास, a learned and enlightened ब्रह्मनिष्ठ (lit. established in Brahman) Sage. It has been translated into Tamizh / तमिळ् , but this Tamizh / तमिळ् version being very lengthy, the Maharshi, at the request of the late M.R.Arunachala Mudaliar of Tiruvannamalai, the foremost among the pious devotees of Siva, made a selection of some of the gem-like thoughts in it. Believing that it would be of use to those excellent and calm aspirants whose minds are not distracted by arguments for and against the different religions, the latter printed them in 1909 under the title Vichara Sagara Sara Sangraham / विचार सागर सार संग्रहं . As, it is now difficult to obtain this small book, the present book has been brought out under a new name, Vichara Mani Malai / विचार मणि मालै / (Jewel Garland of Enquiry).
--
***************
Jewel Garland of Enquiry (VICHARA MANI MALAI)
--
This is a compilation of the salient points extracted by Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi from a large volume in Tamizh known as Vichara Sagara (Ocean of Enquiry), which itself was a translation from the original in Hindi by Sadhu Nishchaldas. On being appealed to by a devotee who complained that the volume in Tamizh was too difficult to read and understand, Sri Bhagavan graciously made the following extracts therefrom.
--
***************
INVOCATION
I am that Brahman which is bliss, which is eternal, effulgent, all-pervasive, the substratum of names and forms, which is not cognized by the impure intellect, but is cognized by the pure intellect, stainless and boundless. That is to say, when one discards the Jiva (individual being) of the form ahamkara / अहंकार / (ego-sense), which is the apparent meaning of the word 'I', what remains merely as the effulgent and conscious Atman / आत्मन् (Self), which is the implied meaning (लक्ष्यार्थ ) of the 'I', is Brahman (ब्रह्मन्) . This can also be understood from the following words of Arunagiriyar's experience: "After swallowing me who had the form of 'I' (ego), that Supreme Being remained as mere Self."
--
***************
The Text
*********
The noble aspirant for Liberation whose mind has become pure and one-pointed by the cessation of evil thoughts, as a result of the motiveless acts and meditations performed by him in his former lives, and who is subject only to the defect of the concealing power (avarana shakti / आवरण -शक्ति ) in the form of ignorance of the Self, and who possesses the four qualifications of discrimination, dispassion, the six virtues like self-control and yearning for Liberation, being unable to endure the miseries of samsara (संसार) , approaches Sadguru / सद्गुरु who is compassionate, who has realized the meaning of Vedanta / वेदान्त and who is established in Brahman / (ब्रह्मन्), and after prostrating before him with fear and reverence, questions Him thus :
Disciple : Swami, what are the means of putting an end to the miseries of samsara / (संसार), like birth and death and of attaining supreme bliss?
Guru : O Disciple! What a delusion! You are always of the nature of bliss. There is not the least trace of the miseries of samsara / (संसार) in you. Therefore do not take upon yourself the miseries of birth, etc. You are the Conscious Brahman (ब्रह्मन्) which is free from birth and death.
Disciple : Is not Liberation the cessation of misery and the attainment of supreme bliss? If I am already of the nature of bliss how is it possible for me to attain the bliss which is always attained and similarly to get rid of the misery which never existed?
Guru : This is possible just as one can seek and find a bracelet which was on one's arm all the time but which one had forgotten about, and on finding it look upon it as a new acquisition. It is possible in the case of the serpent which, at no time present in the rope, was mistaken for one, but which seemed to be there and seems to disappear when one discovers that it is only a piece of rope.
Disciple : Will the non-existence of misery and the existence of bliss co-exist in one and the same state (lit. substance) of Liberation?
Guru : They will. Just as the non-existence of the imagined serpent is the existence of the rope, the non-existence of the imagined misery is the existence of bliss.
Disciple : As bliss arises only from contact with objects, how can I be said to be (of the nature of) bliss?
Guru : The bliss of the Self will not be felt in the intellect which is distracted by desires for objects by one who does not know the Self. When the object of desire is obtained, the intellect becomes steady for a moment and turns inwards. Then the bliss of the Self is reflected in it and this gives rise to a delusion that there was bliss in the object. But when other objects are desired this bliss vanishes. It is similar to the bliss which one experiences on the arrival of one's son from a foreign country. It does not last as long as the object which seemed to be the cause of it. Further, bliss is experienced in the state of samadhi / समाधि and deep sleep even without objects. Therefore there is no bliss in objects.
The Self alone is bliss. It is because the bliss of the Self alone is experienced by all, that all are proclaimed by the Vedas to be the form of bliss.
Disciple : But, does the sage (Jnani / ज्ञानी) who knows the Self, desire objects and experience bliss or does he not?
Guru : Although he may desire objects and experience bliss like the ignorant person, he does not imagine that bliss to be any different from the bliss of the self.
Disciple : When the misery of birth, death, etc., is actually experienced, how can it be said that it never exists in me?
Guru : Know that the world of birth, death, etc., is an illusory appearance like the serpent in the rope and blueness in the sky, or like dreams, due to your ignorance of your Self which is Brahman.
Disciple : What is the support (adhara / आधार ) for this extensive world?
Guru : Just as the rope is the support (adhara / आधार ) and basis (adhishthana / अधिष्ठान ) for the world which appears when the rope is not recognized as such, so you are the support (adhara) and basis (adhishthana) for the world which appears when you do not know your Self.
Disciple : Kindly explain distinctly the ideas of support (adhara आधार) and basis (adhishthana).
Guru : Even in the unreal serpent there is a concept 'this' which is mixed up with the general concept 'this' underlying the rope. Similarly in the unreal world there is a concept 'it exists' which is mixed up with the general concept of existence underlying the Self. This existence is the support (adhara) of the world. Again, just as there is the particular concept 'rope' (besides the general concept of 'this') there is also the particular concept of the Self, namely that it is unattached / असक्त, immutable / अविकारी , ever-liberated / नित्य-मुक्त, all-pervasive / सर्व-व्यापी, etc. This is not cognized at the time of delusion, but, when cognized, removes the delusion. This particular concept of the Self is the basis (adhishthana अधिष्ठान ) of the world.
Disciple : Corresponding to the seer who is separate from the rope which is the support (adhara) and basis (adhishthana) of the serpent, who is the seer apart from me who is the support (adhara) and basis (adhishthana) of the world?
Guru : If the basis (adhishthana) is insentient a separate seer is necessary.
If the basis (adhishthana) is sentient it will itself be the seer. Just as the witnessing-consciousness which is the basis (adhishthana) of the dream is itself the seer of the dream, you are yourself the seer of the world.
Disciple : If the world of the waking state comes into existence and falsely appears like dreams through nescience (avidya / अविद्या ), why should we speak of any distinction between the waking state and the dream state and say that the waking state has relative (empirical : vyavaharika / व्यावहारिक ) reality while the dream state has only personal (pratibhasika / प्रातिभासिक ) reality?
Terminolgy : शब्दावलि :
आत्मन् (Self) > अहं , अहंकार (self) > ego
विचार-मणि-मालै, धर्म, अर्थ, काम, मोक्ष, विचार-सागरम्, साधु निश्चलदास, विचार-सागर
_____________________
*********************
(VICHARA MANI MALAI)
of
BHAGAVAN SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI
**************
Introduction to the original Tamizh version
Of the four human ends, namely dharma / धर्म (virtuous and harmonious life), artha / अर्थ (material prosperity), kama / काम (desires) and moksha / मोक्ष (Liberation), Liberation is the most important. There are several Vedantic books in the Sanskrit / संस्कृत and Prakrit / प्राकृत languages which describe this Liberation which is of the cessation of misery and the attainment of bliss. Among these there is a rare book known as Vichara Sagaram / विचार-सागरं written in Hindi /हिंदी by Sadhu Nishchaldas / साधु निश्चलदास, a learned and enlightened ब्रह्मनिष्ठ (lit. established in Brahman) Sage. It has been translated into Tamizh / तमिळ् , but this Tamizh / तमिळ् version being very lengthy, the Maharshi, at the request of the late M.R.Arunachala Mudaliar of Tiruvannamalai, the foremost among the pious devotees of Siva, made a selection of some of the gem-like thoughts in it. Believing that it would be of use to those excellent and calm aspirants whose minds are not distracted by arguments for and against the different religions, the latter printed them in 1909 under the title Vichara Sagara Sara Sangraham / विचार सागर सार संग्रहं . As, it is now difficult to obtain this small book, the present book has been brought out under a new name, Vichara Mani Malai / विचार मणि मालै / (Jewel Garland of Enquiry).
--
***************
Jewel Garland of Enquiry (VICHARA MANI MALAI)
--
This is a compilation of the salient points extracted by Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi from a large volume in Tamizh known as Vichara Sagara (Ocean of Enquiry), which itself was a translation from the original in Hindi by Sadhu Nishchaldas. On being appealed to by a devotee who complained that the volume in Tamizh was too difficult to read and understand, Sri Bhagavan graciously made the following extracts therefrom.
--
***************
INVOCATION
I am that Brahman which is bliss, which is eternal, effulgent, all-pervasive, the substratum of names and forms, which is not cognized by the impure intellect, but is cognized by the pure intellect, stainless and boundless. That is to say, when one discards the Jiva (individual being) of the form ahamkara / अहंकार / (ego-sense), which is the apparent meaning of the word 'I', what remains merely as the effulgent and conscious Atman / आत्मन् (Self), which is the implied meaning (लक्ष्यार्थ ) of the 'I', is Brahman (ब्रह्मन्) . This can also be understood from the following words of Arunagiriyar's experience: "After swallowing me who had the form of 'I' (ego), that Supreme Being remained as mere Self."
--
***************
The Text
*********
The noble aspirant for Liberation whose mind has become pure and one-pointed by the cessation of evil thoughts, as a result of the motiveless acts and meditations performed by him in his former lives, and who is subject only to the defect of the concealing power (avarana shakti / आवरण -शक्ति ) in the form of ignorance of the Self, and who possesses the four qualifications of discrimination, dispassion, the six virtues like self-control and yearning for Liberation, being unable to endure the miseries of samsara (संसार) , approaches Sadguru / सद्गुरु who is compassionate, who has realized the meaning of Vedanta / वेदान्त and who is established in Brahman / (ब्रह्मन्), and after prostrating before him with fear and reverence, questions Him thus :
Disciple : Swami, what are the means of putting an end to the miseries of samsara / (संसार), like birth and death and of attaining supreme bliss?
Guru : O Disciple! What a delusion! You are always of the nature of bliss. There is not the least trace of the miseries of samsara / (संसार) in you. Therefore do not take upon yourself the miseries of birth, etc. You are the Conscious Brahman (ब्रह्मन्) which is free from birth and death.
Disciple : Is not Liberation the cessation of misery and the attainment of supreme bliss? If I am already of the nature of bliss how is it possible for me to attain the bliss which is always attained and similarly to get rid of the misery which never existed?
Guru : This is possible just as one can seek and find a bracelet which was on one's arm all the time but which one had forgotten about, and on finding it look upon it as a new acquisition. It is possible in the case of the serpent which, at no time present in the rope, was mistaken for one, but which seemed to be there and seems to disappear when one discovers that it is only a piece of rope.
Disciple : Will the non-existence of misery and the existence of bliss co-exist in one and the same state (lit. substance) of Liberation?
Guru : They will. Just as the non-existence of the imagined serpent is the existence of the rope, the non-existence of the imagined misery is the existence of bliss.
Disciple : As bliss arises only from contact with objects, how can I be said to be (of the nature of) bliss?
Guru : The bliss of the Self will not be felt in the intellect which is distracted by desires for objects by one who does not know the Self. When the object of desire is obtained, the intellect becomes steady for a moment and turns inwards. Then the bliss of the Self is reflected in it and this gives rise to a delusion that there was bliss in the object. But when other objects are desired this bliss vanishes. It is similar to the bliss which one experiences on the arrival of one's son from a foreign country. It does not last as long as the object which seemed to be the cause of it. Further, bliss is experienced in the state of samadhi / समाधि and deep sleep even without objects. Therefore there is no bliss in objects.
The Self alone is bliss. It is because the bliss of the Self alone is experienced by all, that all are proclaimed by the Vedas to be the form of bliss.
Disciple : But, does the sage (Jnani / ज्ञानी) who knows the Self, desire objects and experience bliss or does he not?
Guru : Although he may desire objects and experience bliss like the ignorant person, he does not imagine that bliss to be any different from the bliss of the self.
Disciple : When the misery of birth, death, etc., is actually experienced, how can it be said that it never exists in me?
Guru : Know that the world of birth, death, etc., is an illusory appearance like the serpent in the rope and blueness in the sky, or like dreams, due to your ignorance of your Self which is Brahman.
Disciple : What is the support (adhara / आधार ) for this extensive world?
Guru : Just as the rope is the support (adhara / आधार ) and basis (adhishthana / अधिष्ठान ) for the world which appears when the rope is not recognized as such, so you are the support (adhara) and basis (adhishthana) for the world which appears when you do not know your Self.
Disciple : Kindly explain distinctly the ideas of support (adhara आधार) and basis (adhishthana).
Guru : Even in the unreal serpent there is a concept 'this' which is mixed up with the general concept 'this' underlying the rope. Similarly in the unreal world there is a concept 'it exists' which is mixed up with the general concept of existence underlying the Self. This existence is the support (adhara) of the world. Again, just as there is the particular concept 'rope' (besides the general concept of 'this') there is also the particular concept of the Self, namely that it is unattached / असक्त, immutable / अविकारी , ever-liberated / नित्य-मुक्त, all-pervasive / सर्व-व्यापी, etc. This is not cognized at the time of delusion, but, when cognized, removes the delusion. This particular concept of the Self is the basis (adhishthana अधिष्ठान ) of the world.
Disciple : Corresponding to the seer who is separate from the rope which is the support (adhara) and basis (adhishthana) of the serpent, who is the seer apart from me who is the support (adhara) and basis (adhishthana) of the world?
Guru : If the basis (adhishthana) is insentient a separate seer is necessary.
If the basis (adhishthana) is sentient it will itself be the seer. Just as the witnessing-consciousness which is the basis (adhishthana) of the dream is itself the seer of the dream, you are yourself the seer of the world.
Disciple : If the world of the waking state comes into existence and falsely appears like dreams through nescience (avidya / अविद्या ), why should we speak of any distinction between the waking state and the dream state and say that the waking state has relative (empirical : vyavaharika / व्यावहारिक ) reality while the dream state has only personal (pratibhasika / प्रातिभासिक ) reality?
Terminolgy : शब्दावलि :
आत्मन् (Self) > अहं , अहंकार (self) > ego
विचार-मणि-मालै, धर्म, अर्थ, काम, मोक्ष, विचार-सागरम्, साधु निश्चलदास, विचार-सागर
